Lighting designers have long been inspired by the light of the moon, working to recreate its beauty, and reinterpret its lasting mystery. On show at Milan this year, and again more recently at NYCxDESIGN, has been a steady succession of spherical and lunar inspired lamps, each reflecting the luminous characteristics of the moon, visually or through innovative and inspired technology. From FLOS’s continued collaboration with London designer Michael Anastassiades, to Lee Broom’s surreal Optical and Crescent collections – these are some of our favourites among the trend.

MOON by Kudu and Oscar LhermittePerhaps the most technologically impressive celestial inspired light to date is MOON – a lunar mood lamp that uses data sourced from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to mimic the actual moon in exact 3D 1/20 million scale detail, including its topographic craters, elevation, and ridges. A ring of LED lights encircles the moon model, casting light upon the correct face of the moon, recreating the lunar phases as seen from earth.

Optical Collection and Mini Crescent by Lee BroomLee Broom launched this set of striped, 90s inspired globe shaped lamps at Milan via his travelling ‘Salone del Automobile’ exhibition (literally, the back of a van). Broom followed this up at NYCxDESIGN by opening his first dedicated US retail outlet just off Broome Street in Soho in New York. Continuing the lunar look, and exclusive to the US market is the new Mini Crescent light.

Extra T by Michael Anastassiades for FLOSExtra T is the latest from Michael Anastassiades for FLOS, a stunning follow on from the designer’s Copycat series and a continuation of his use of circular shapes and balanced elements.

Equalizer by Ladies & Gentlemen Studio and John HoganEqualizer was launched as part of design store The Future Perfect’s presentation for New York Design Week. The setting features hand blown glass orbs by artist John Hogan.

Theia Lamp by Mathias Hahn for MarsetInspired by the Greek goddess Theia, mother of the sun, the moon and the dawn – this lamp by Mathias Hahn for Marset was a winner at the first-ever NYCxDESIGN Awards. Theia is available in Australia at AJAR.